No on Question 3

The Lowell Sun

Updated:
10/28/2012 06:36:52 AM EDT

By Kenneth Lavallee

Special to The Sun

Let me clarify why I and all the police chiefs in Massachusetts oppose Question 3.

In the Aug. 20 edition of Sports Illustrated magazine, a weekly segment entitled "Sign Of The Apocalypse," reports: "A medical marijuana dispensary in Orange County, Calif., has started selling a strain of cannabis dubbed Usain Bolt OG, after the speed with which it affects users."

Now are we supposed to believe that "Usain Bolt OG" marijuana has a medicinal purpose?

I think not.

Massachusetts is currently in the throes of a drug-addiction epidemic. Young people are dying from drug overdoses at an alarming rate, and I can assure you many of them found marijuana to be their gateway drug. So you may ask how this pertains to medical marijuana, intended for people with debilitating illness. The answer is simple. Ninety percent of the marijuana cardholders in other states are registered for simple ailments such as headaches, backaches and even athlete's foot.

Everyone wants to see compassionate health care for all Massachusetts citizens. But in other states that already have similar laws, only 10 percent of the marijuana cardholders are cancer, HIV/AIDS or glaucoma patients. If Question 3 passes, anyone with self-diagnosed pain may obtain marijuana. The proposed bill lists conditions for which marijuana can be obtained, including "other conditions as determined in writing by a qualifying patient's physician.

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" This is no doubt concealment for recreational use.

Additionally, 35 marijuana dispensaries will be allowed to open in Massachusetts in the first year. Five distribution points are slated for each county. As the largest city in Middlesex County, you can rightly assume Lowell will be targeted for a dispensary. Do we really want a marijuana dispensary in downtown Lowell near Lowell High School, Middlesex Community College and the UMass Lowell Inn & Conference Center, or any part of the city for that matter? Also, the number of dispensaries can be increased in the following years and no maximum number is specified in the proposed law.

Further complicating matters is that marijuana-based products such as foods, oils, ointments and aerosols may be legally sold as "medicine." Marijuana laced brownies, cookies, candy, cakes and other foods will be sold in dispensaries targeting youth. Young customers would be vulnerable because the scheme contains no age limit or expiration date, so teens or even children could use marijuana as "medicine" for life.

The proposed law allows for people with cards to legally possess a 60-day supply, but a 60-day supply is not defined in the law. That's potentially a lot of marijuana. You can correctly assume that those legally possessing marijuana will make the drug readily available to their friends, exponentially increasing the use of marijuana among youth. Anyone over 21 will be able to operate a marijuana dispensary in your neighborhood as long as they are not a convicted felon.

According to the proposed law, these "pot" shops would be nonprofits so the owners would not have to pay property or sales tax no matter how rich they get. This would be a business that thrives on people's addictions, yet does nothing to contribute a share of the profits to the commonwealth, like all other businesses in Massachusetts.

This proposed law is so full of loopholes that it will be ripe for abuse and exploitation by marijuana dealers who will be able to hide in plain sight. When a shop opens in your neighborhood, be prepared to deal with the negative consequences that will come with it. You will see transient people, increased crime, increased marijuana use by young people and an already overburdened system to deal with it all.

Question 3 is not good for Massachusetts. Don't be deceived by Question 3's out-of-state proponents who've poured millions of dollars into the state to move this initiative forward.

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